Pallet construction



March 28, 1939. w .1. POWELL 2,152,086

PALLET CONSTRUCT I ON Filed Dec. 5, 1938 gmc/Mio@ Patented Mar. 28, 1939 PALLET CONSTRUCTION William J. Powell, Hubbard, Ohio, assigner to The Powell Pressed Steel Company, Hubbard, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 5, 1938, `Serial No. 243,979

6 Claims.

The invention relates generally to material handling platforms, and more particularly to platforms known as pallets adapted for being piled or stacked on top of material for storage having spaced ribs extending vertically through the side member web portions and angularly into the flange portions for strengthening the side members and protecting the ends thereof.

and the like. In the drawing forming part hereof 5 Such pallets are adapted to be used with hand Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of or power operated fork lift trucks for storing, pallet constructed according to the present imhandling and transporting materials in loose provements; form or in boxes, bags, crates, bales, bundles and Fig. 2 is an end view thereof; the like. Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional l0 The ordinary pallets in common use are cone View through one of the recessed side members of structed substantially entirely of wood, and they the pallet shown in Figs. 1 and 2; present sharp or rough edges and corners tending Fig. 4 is an end View of another form of pallet constantly to cause injuries to workmen handling having slightly different side members adapted the pallets. Moreover, these wooden pallets have to be used with wooden deck members; and l5 to be made relatively thick and heavy in order to Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view prov1de the required compression strength for through one of the side members of the pallet supporting heavy compression loads, as well as shown in Fig. 4. lateral shock loads, and are therefore awkward Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughand cumbersome to handle. Such wooden pallets out the several views of the drawing. 20 deteriorate very rapidly due to wear, warpage and The pallet shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3 preferably breakage, thereby requiring frequent repairs and includes top and bottom deck members 5 and 'i large maintenance expense, and also increasing Supported on laterally spaced side members 8.. the hazard of injury to workmen from splinters Thedeck members 6 and l are shown as sheet vand rough corners and edges. metal deck members having relatively deep cor- 25 It is therefore an object of the present invention rugations t for carrying heavy loads. although the to provide a lightweight and strong pallet condepth or number of thecorrugations may be struction adapted to be easily handled by hand or varied, or thev deck members may be constructed by fork lift trucks or by crane slings. of metal or wooden slats ci various forms| without Another object is to provide an improved pallet departing from the scope of the present invention. 30 construction requiring aminmum of repairs and The side members 8 are preferably recessed or maintenance'expense. channel shaped in cross section with their legs Another object is to provide an improved pallet or flange i0 directed outwardly. construction which substantially eliminates in- A longitudinally extending channel il is pron jury t0 WOrkmen due t0 Sharp Corners and Spunti vided between the side channels 8 preferably 35 ers. g spaced midway between said channels, and has Another obJect 1s to prov1de an improved palangular Legs |2 for supporting the deck members let havlng TCCGSSBd 51de members Wlth integral intermediate the side channels, the web of-chanflange portions for protecting the ends of the *50D nel Il serving to center the fork of a fork lift 40 alld bottom C ek members and adapted for use truck to insure equal distribution of the load on 4C with crane slmgs. d d l the truck A further object is to provi e an improve pa a construction with Side members hevwihnai pailatvt mg means prov1ding the slde members with 1ntions 's extendin rti g ve cally from the legs l il and creased strength and for protecting their ends abutting the side ed f th d ks s .I 45 when a crane sling is used. ges o e ec and Th The ange portmns I3 preferably have integral ese and othei objects are attained by the mturned portions It overlapping the side edges lmprovements comprising the present invention,

a preferred embodiment of which is shown by or extremities of the decks' Accordingly each Way of example in the accompanying drawing, side channel 8 includes integral top and. bottom. 5( and hereinafter described and claimed. inwardly Open manuel portions for receiving and In general terms, the invention includes re' binding thedges 0f the decks.' cessed metal side members having integral flange The edges of the decks 6 and l may be welded portions for covering the ends'of the deck memor otherwise secured to both the'legs t@ and the overlapping flange portions it if desired so as to 55 bers supported thereby, and said side members 'of the legs and the web.

By providing these ribs in the channels, an extremely strong pallet is provided so that the channels may be constructed of light gauge material. Moreover, the increased strength and rigidity imparted by the ribs provides increased stability and ruggedness to resist weave or distortion in operation.

The ribs l5 are preferably located so that the end ribs are relatively near to the end edges of the side channels 8, and when a crane sling is used to lift or transport the improved pallet, the ribs, particularly at the fillet or intersection between the rib portions I5 and I6, provide reinforced bearing points for contacting the crane sling.

By locating the ends ribs near to the end edges of the channels the major portion of the stress transmitted by the sling will be applied on the llets of the end ribs, thus relieving the stress applied to the end of the channel tending to distort or damage the same.

The iiange portions I 3 and the inturned flange portions I4 preferably have their corners slightly rounded and provide means for substantially eliminating all sharp edges Which might cause injury to workmen, and the exposed portions of the deck members t and l at the ends of the pallet are likewise slightly rounded, so that no sharp edges are presented. Moreover, since the pallet is constructed entirely of metal there is no danger of causing splinte'rs in handling.

'I'he form of pallet shown in Figs. 4 and 5 includes top and bottom deck members 6a and 'la which may be wooden slats as indicated in Fig. 5, having their edges at the ends of the pallet protected by metal angles I3b.

The side channels 8a have outwardly directed legs Illa and integral angular top and bottom ange portions |30l abutting the extremities of the deck members 6a and 1a.

Preferably a longitudinally extending channel Ila is provided midway between the channels 8a and has angular legs I2a for supporting the deckl to the channels 8 and II.

As best shown in Fig. 5, the ribs I5a extend vertically orv transversely of the channel Web and continuously into the legs Illa in a horizontal or angular direction, and the leg portions I6a of the ribs terminate intermediate the webs I5a and iiangeportions I3a, and substantially at the bolts Ila.

aicaoee The recessed or outwardly open side channels of the present construction provide for ease of handling by hand or crane slings and the intermediate channel facilitates handlingby fork lift trucks.

The improved pallet construction embodying the ribs in the longitudinal channels provides a lightweight and strong pallet h aving maximum resistance to Weave and distortion, and is particularly adapted to resist stress imparted by crane slings.

I claim:

1. Pallet construction including longitudinally extending one-piece side channels having upright Webs and outwardly directed legs, top and bottom deck members supported on said side channels, said side channels having ribs formed therein at longitudinal intervals, and said ribs extending vertically in the channel webs and continuously into the legs in a horizontal direction.

2. Pallet construction including longitudinally extending one-piece side channels having upright Webs and outwardly directed legs, top and bottom deck members supported on said side channels, said channels having ribs formed therein at longitudinal intervals, and said ribs being formed to extend continuously in and from the channel webs into the channel legs in a direction angular to said webs.

3. Pallet construction including longitudinally extending one-piece side channels having outwardly directed legs, a longitudinally extending one-piece channel intermediate said side channels, top and bottom deck members supported on said channels, and said side members and said intermediate channel having vertically extending ribs formed therein at longitudinal intervals.

4. Pallet construction including longitudinally extending one-piece side channels having Voutwardly directed legs, top and bottom deck members supported on said side channels, and said side channels having vertically extending ribs formed therein at longitudinal intervals.

5. Pallet construction including longitudinally extending one-piece side channels having upright webs and outwardly directed legs, top and bottom deck members supported on said side channels, said channel legs having integral angular ange portions abutting the extremities of the deck members and integral inturned flange portions overlapping the extremities of said deck members, said channel webs having vertically extending ribs formed therein at longitudinal intervals, and said ribs extending continuously into the channel legs in a horizontal direction.

6. Pallet construction including longitudinally extending one-piece side channels having upright webs and outwardly directed legs, a longitudinally extending one-piece channel intermediate said side channels and having an upright web and legs angular thereto, top and bottom deck members supported on said channels, said side channel legs having integral angular ange portions 

